Low Back Pain

Absence of Low Back Pain to Demarcate an Episode: A Prospective Multicentre Study in Primary Care

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE:   Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2016 (Feb 18); 24: 3

Andreas Eklund, Irene Jensen, Malin Lohela-Karlsson, Charlotte Leboeuf-Yde, and Iben Axén

Unit of Intervention and Implementation Research,
Karolinska Institutet,
Institute of Environmental Medicine,
Nobels v 13, S-171 77
Stockholm, Sweden.

BACKGROUND:   It has been proposed that an episode of low back pain (LBP) be defined as: “a period of pain in the lower back lasting for more than 24 h preceded and followed by a period of at least 1 month without LBP”. Previous studies have tested the definition in the general population and in secondary care populations with distinctly different results. The objectives of this study (in a primary care population) were to investigate the prevalence of 1) the number of consecutive weeks free from bothersome LBP, 2) the prevalence of at least four consecutive weeks free from bothersome LBP at any time during the study period, and 3) the prevalence of at least four consecutive weeks free from bothersome LBP at any time during the study period among subgroups that reported >30 days or ≤30 days of LBP the preceding year.

METHOD:   In this prospective multicentre study subjects with LBP (n = 262) were consecutively recruited from chiropractic primary care clinics in Sweden. The number of days with bothersome LBP was collected through weekly automated text messages. The maximum number of weeks in a row without bothersome LBP and the number of periods of at least four consecutive weeks free from bothersome LBP was counted for each individual and analysed as proportions.

RESULTS:   Data from 222 recruited subjects were analysed, of which 59 % reported at least one period of four consecutive weeks free from bothersome LBP. The number of consecutive pain free weeks ranged from 82 (at least one) to 31 % (9 or more). In subjects with a total duration of LBP of ≤30 days the previous year, 75 % reported a period of 4 consecutive weeks free from bothersome LBP during the study period whereas this was reported by only 48 % of subjects with a total duration of LBP of >30 days the previous year.

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The Global Burden of Low Back Pain: Estimates from the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study

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SOURCE:   Ann Rheum Dis. 2014 (Jun); 73 (6): 968–974

Prof Theo Vos, PhD, Abraham D Flaxman, PhD, Mohsen Naghavi, PhD, Prof Rafael Lozano, MD, Catherine Michaud, MD, Prof Majid Ezzati et. al.

School of Population Health,
Brisbane, QLD, Australia

OBJECTIVE:   To estimate the global burden of low back pain (LBP).

METHODS:   LBP was defined as pain in the area on the posterior aspect of the body from the lower margin of the twelfth ribs to the lower glutaeal folds with or without pain referred into one or both lower limbs that lasts for at least one day. Systematic reviews were performed of the prevalence, incidence, remission, duration, and mortality risk of LBP. Four levels of severity were identified for LBP with and without leg pain, each with their own disability weights. The disability weights were applied to prevalence values to derive the overall disability of LBP expressed as years lived with disability (YLDs). As there is no mortality from LBP, YLDs are the same as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).

RESULTS:   Out of all 291 conditions studied in the Global Burden of Disease 2010 Study, LBP ranked highest in terms of disability (YLDs), and sixth in terms of overall burden (DALYs). The global point prevalence of LBP was 9.4% (95% CI 9.0 to 9.8). DALYs increased from 58.2 million (M) (95% CI 39.9M to 78.1M) in 1990 to 83.0M (95% CI 56.6M to 111.9M) in 2010. Prevalence and burden increased with age.

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Years Lived with Disability (YLDs) for 1160 Sequelae of 289 Diseases and Injuries 1990-2010

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Low Back Pain: The Potential Contribution of Supraspinal Motor Control and Proprioception

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE:   Neuroscientist. 2018 (Nov 2) [Epub]

Michael Lukas Meier, Andrea Vrana1, and Petra Schweinhardt

Integrative Spinal Research,
Department of Chiropractic Medicine,
University Hospital Balgrist,
Zurich, Switzerland.

Motor control, which relies on constant communication between motor and sensory systems, is crucial for spine posture, stability and movement. Adaptions of motor control occur in low back pain (LBP) while different motor adaption strategies exist across individuals, probably to reduce LBP and risk of injury. However, in some individuals with LBP, adapted motor control strategies might have long-term consequences, such as increased spinal loading that has been linked with degeneration of intervertebral discs and other tissues, potentially maintaining recurrent or chronic LBP. Factors contributing to motor control adaptations in LBP have been extensively studied on the motor output side, but less attention has been paid to changes in sensory input, specifically proprioception.

Furthermore, motor cortex reorganization has been linked with chronic and recurrent LBP, but underlying factors are poorly understood. Here, we review current research on behavioral and neural effects of motor control adaptions in LBP. We conclude that back pain-induced disrupted or reduced proprioceptive signaling likely plays a pivotal role in driving long-term changes in the top-down control of the motor system via motor and sensory cortical reorganization. In the outlook of this review, we explore whether motor control adaptations are also important for other (musculoskeletal) pain conditions.

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